It runs in the family
by botgal
Summary: Reid's relative comes to town, and he's the one who has to watch her. That might have been more bearable to the rest of the BAU if she wasn't a genius like him. How will they cope with two geniuses!
1. Visitor

The receptionist had seen a lot while working for the FBI, but boy was she surprised when a little girl walked through the front entrance. The young one walked smartly with her back straight and head held high. Not only did she walk like a woman, but she looked like she had a purpose. She walked straight up to the receptionist and looked her right in the eye. She was carrying both a duffel bag and had a rolling backpack behind her.

"Excuse me miss, I'm here to see Doctor Spencer Reid. He's works here." Her speech was as deliberate as her walk. The receptionist paused for a moment before motioning for the girl to wait.

"Umm, Agent Hotchner, we have a l- visitor for Doctor Reid, is this a good time?" She was about to say 'little girl', but with the way this girl carried herself, it just didn't seem to appropriate.

"Yes it is, please send 'em in."

"Okay, thank you." she got off the intercom and turned to the young visitor. "Okay young lady, you are free to go in. Just go down that hall, then make a right, turn left, they should be in the conference room."

"Thank you, I'll see myself there. I apologize for wasting your valuable time just for directions."

"It's what I'm here for, don't worry yourself." The young girl nodded in response and walked down the hallways directed. The receptionist sighed once she had gone. The crazy things that this job dealed with. People gave the girl strange looks as she passed by in the hallway, but she payed them no mind. She had expected this, so she simply chose to ignore it. She finally reached the conference room as it was clearly marked, and knocked softly.

"Come in" she acknowledged this and opened the door, shutting it behind her. She turned to see the people in the room and looked at each of them, seeming to examine them. She stopped at the last person in the room, Dr. Spencer Reid. He was looking down at some papers as she walked in and had just looked up. The second he layed eyes on her, a wide smile spread across his face. Garcia looked between the two and smirked.

"Oh. My. God. Reid you sly dog!"


	2. She's not my kid!

"What are you talking about Garcia?" Reid asked as he gave her a weird look.

"I mean the kid! And here I thought you were a virgin! Why didn't you ever tell us!" It took Reid a second to realize what she was talking about, but when he figured it out, he looked startled.

"Oh no, no,no. It's really not what you think!"

"Oh give me a break Spence, look at the kid! If she isn't yours then I don't know who she is!"

"Okay, first off-" Reid started, but he was cut off again by Garcia.

"Hey, what'syourname, umm..."

"Cattail, Cattail Reid" the girl responded.

"Right, how old are you exactly?"

"Umm, I'm eleven years old."

"Eleven, that would mean he was... sixteen! Geez, Reid, I never took you for that type." Garcia gave him a smile and thumbs up.

"Listen! First off, she's not my daughter! Second, she's just my cousin. Third, I am still a virgin." Reid ended his rant quietly and breathed deeply. Morgan stared at him with a cocked eyebrow, obviously impressed with his outburst.

"So, why exactly are you here Ms. Reid?" Gideon asked from his chair.

"Well, I'm going to be spending a month or two with cousin Spencer, and I knew he wouldn't be home around the time I got here, including at least an hour safety cushion just in case of flight delays, so I decided to just come to his workplace." Cattail stated plainly. Gideon looked her right in the eye, impressed that someone so young spoke so plainly and to-the-point.

"Well then, let me be the first to say, welcome."

"Thank you Mr. Gideon. In case you were wondering how I knew your name, Spencer had told me all about his teammates, along with some information I dug up, so I simply guessed by the way you acted." She stopped and stared as Reid for a moment, then smiled lightly. "Something's wrong with this picture, oh yes, I've been here at least eight minutes and I haven't been given a hug or been asked if I needed help with my luggage." Reid smiled before getting up and relieving her of her duffel bag and pushing her rolling bag off to the side. He then pulled her into a bear hug and lifted her off the ground for a few seconds before puffing and placing her down. "No offense, but I think we should work out a bit." Cattail said after he put her down.

"Now, back to business, Ms. Reid, would you mind waiting in the hall?"

"No problem. I'll just read my book while I wait." with that, she grabbed a thick-looking paper-back from her duffel bag and took it into the hallway.

Garcia stared after her and whispered to Morgan, "Call me crazy, but I think she just carried out a copy of _War and Peace_"


	3. Garcia the CatSitter

Cattail sat in the hallway for about an hour before Reid came out to get her. She followed him into the room and sat down in the chair nearest him.

"Sorry about the long wait Ms. Reid, but the conference went on a little longer than planned." Gideon said apologetically.

"No need to worry, and please, call me Cattail, or even Cat will do. It's alright, by the way, you should read War and Peace, it was a really good book." Cattail said as she held up the book.

"Wait, was? You mean you finished the whole book in one hour?" Morgan asked disbelievingly.

"Well, truth be told I read it about three times, and I've read it before this. I just like to re-read things to see if I can get anything else out of the story than the first time I read it" Everyone in the room except Reid stared at her.

"Umm, I know it may sound weird to ask but, what's your I.Q. Number?" Garcia asked.

"Umm, just around 180. Why?" Cattail looked at Garcia so questioningly, it was obvious that she was truly curious about why her answer may have sounded strange.

"Oh, no reason. You're just a lot like Dr. Reid."

"Come on Cat, we've gotta go get you settled in. Grab your things and let's go." Reid grabbed her duffel bag and went out the door. "I already put in for early leave so it's okay if we go home now. Bye everyone." Cattail grabbed her rolling bag and followed him out the door.

"Well, looks like being a genius runs in the family." Garcia said as she stared after them.

The next day...

Reid walked into the building with Cattail right on his heels. All throughout the day she stayed by his side or right behind him. By noon she could already recite the whole building floor-plan, which she had demonstrated to Gideon.

"Well, it looks like you won't need to be shown where the bathroom or anything else is. How long did it take you to memorize the building again?"

"Umm, just about six hours. If I had a floor-plan mapped out on a blueprint or something, maybe four." Morgan was in the room picking up some forms and paperwork for their latest meeting from Gideon, and stared at the little girl in the room.

"Are you sure she's not your kid Reid? Because it's pretty damn hard for me to think that she's not." Morgan said as he filed away the paperwork. Garcia, who had just entered the room, frowned at him.

"Morgan! Watch your language! There's a kid in the room!" Garcia scolded him as she placed some paperwork on the desk. Spencer felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out. When he saw the screen, his eyes widened.

"Oh, rats. Um, Garcia, something urgent just came up, I need to go, now! Do-do you think you could maybe watch her for an hour or so until I get back?"

"Of course. We'll have lots of fun. Not to mention I'm gonna be able to put some meat on her bones. Look at her, she's skinnier than a pole." Reid shook his head and turned to Cattail.

"Cat, I'm gonna leave you with Garcia for a bit. I should be back in an hour. I'm sorry, but I just don't want to leave you alone."

"That's okay. I need some time to do some research anyways." Cat gestured to the books she held in her other arm and Spencer smiled.

"Right, okay. Thanks a lot Garcia. I owe you big time. Bye Cat." Spencer gave his cousin a quick hug, then walked out the door.


	4. Adventures in CatSitting

Garcia led Cattail to her computer office and showed her to a seat in a rotating chair. She sat down as her computer and turned to the eleven-year-old.

"So, what do you want to do?" Garcia asked with a smile. Cat glanced around the room and placed her books in her lap.

"Well, I was hoping to catch up on my reading." Garcia nodded and Cat got her nose in a book. After a few minutes, Garcia turned from her computer and spoke again.

"So, what's your book about?"

"It's about mythological creatures from legends. It's really quite intriguing. There's one race of creatures that came from the Filipinos known as the Duwende. They're small dwarf-like creatures that live in peoples houses. They were said to protect and care for human's dwellings, depending on how the home owners treated them. People used to leave them food, to try and appease them."

"I could sure use one of those around here." Garcia motioned to the piles of papers on the desks.

"There's also one race of creatures known as the Al. The creature came from the folklore of Caucasus, Iran Central Asia, and some southern places in Russia. The beasts are rumored to steal the lungs, livers, and hearts of women either in childbirth, those who are pregnant, or those who have just given birth. Another rumored ability is that they can steal babies forty days after they are born and replace them with imps. It's said that they had sharp fangs, clay noses, fiery eyes, disheveled hair, copper claws, iron teeth, the tusks of a wild boar-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Garcia said, not wanting to hear anymore. She shook her head and reached for her secret snack fridge she kept hidden under her desk. "So, want anything to eat or drink? I've got chips, soda, water, cookies, crackers-"

"I'll take some fruit, strawberries if you have any." Cattail said without taking her eyes off of the page.

"Oh no, no, no, no. We're gonna put some meat on those bones. You're so thin you look like you're anemic."

"That's because I am." Garcia stared for a minute before turning back to her secret snackage.

"I'm not going to leave you alone unless you take something."

"Fine, I'll take some sugar cookies and grape juice." Garcia nodded and handed her the requested snacks. Garcia turned back to her computer to check her emails and unconsciously started humming to herself. "You know, it's completely impossible to hum with your nose plugged." Garcia turned her head to look at the girl in the swivel chair behind her. Curious, she plugged her nose with her fingers and tried humming. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't do it.

"Wow, you're right. Well, I guess you would be right, you are a genius after all" Garcia said. Cat shrugged and went back to her book. Garcia watched out of the corner of her eye as Cat sipped from her grape juice. When she bit into a sugar cookie, she started and talked with the cookie bite in the corner of her mouth.

"Wow, that was one sweet sugar cookie. Are these home made?" Cat managed to choke out.

"Yes. Why? Too much sugar?" Cattail managed to nod before locating the nearest trash can and spitting out the offending morsel. Garcia bit into a cookie, but didn't see anything wrong with it. She finished it off and and took the plate back to her own desk, giving Cattail some store-bought chocolate chip cookies to replace the sugar ones. "Hey, is it true that it's impossible to lick your elbow?"

"Well, difficult, but not impossible. I can do it." Garcia looked her and crossed her arms.

"Prove it then" Cattail shrugged and positioned her arm. She pointed her elbow up, then used her other arm to push it impossibly low, and licked her elbow. Garcia stared the whole time and tried it herself. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it right. About 45 minutes later, Spencer walked through Garcia's door and looked at Cat.

"Hello, how did it go?"

"Interesting" Garcia said slowly.

"Thanks again Garcia" Reid said before taking Cattail's hand and leaving. When Morgan saw Garcia later, he was confused at why she was trying to lick her elbow.

"Um, isn't that impossible Garcia?" he asked.

"Nope, that's why I'm trying to do it. Reid's little cousin did it so I'm trying to do it too. She must be double-jointed or something, because I just can't do it."

"Actually there's no such thing as being double-jointed" Spencer said as he passed them by.

"Yes. Some people simply have joints which are more flexible than most other people." Cattail agreed. "Some people refer to it as the condition of hypermobility."

"Which is actually a misnomer." Spencer corrected. "The prefix 'hyper' means too much. People who are called 'double-jointed', merely have a wider range of movement in their joints." Garcia and Morgan watched as the two walked out of view. When they were gone, Morgan looked at Garcia.

"So she can seriously lick her elbow?"


	5. Mordred and Medusa

Garcia was walking on the sidewalk on her way back from the bakery a few blocks away from her house. It was far, but she wanted to make up for the calories she was sure to gain from the pastries she was going to buy and eat. She was about halfway home with a paper bag under her arm, when she literally bumped right into a dog. It was **huge**. It had to be part wolf part, stegosaurus or something! She was so focused on the dog, she didn't even notice who was holding the leash.

"Oh, hello Agent Garcia. How are you?" Garcia raised head and saw the same little genius girl she had been watching only a few hours previously.

"Cat! Hi! Um, big dog you've got there."

"Yes, he's mine, very handsome don't you think? You can pet him if you want, he won't bite." Garcia cautiously put her hand forward and let the dog sniff her hand. Once he had sniffed for a good minute, he lowered his head and placed it gently under her hand. Garcia rubbed his head while he stood there and let his tongue loll out of his mouth. "His name is Mordred, you know, like the famous villain from the story of King Arthur."

"Well that's a very... **interesting** name." Garcia took her hand from Mordred's head when she got a thought. "Wait, are you out here all alone, because I don't think Reid would let you wander by yourself like this."

"Of course not, cousin Spencer is only a block or two away. He needed a rest, so he let me go on until I reached this exact spot."

"Why did he need to rest?"

"He was carrying my cat's carrier and had to rest. Medusa is a pretty big cat. Would you like to sit with me until he gets here?" Garcia nodded and they sat on the bench nearby. Once his mistress was sitting comfortably, Mordred lay down on the spot and stared straight ahead at the street. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Garcia tried to break up the silence with conversation.

"So... your cat's name is Medusa?"

"Yes, I suppose you're familiar with the story. There are actually two versions, the first being that Medusa was born the way she was, as a hideous creature with snakes for her hair. In this version of the story, she has two sisters, both have the ability to turn humans to stone as she did. They were creatures known as Gorgons.

"In the other version, Medusa used to be the most beautiful woman anyone knew. Even the god of water, Poseidon, wanted to know her. One day she and Poseidon lay together in the goddess Athena's temple, and that greatly angered her. So Athena turned her into a hideous creature and-"

"Okay, okay. So, you seem to know a lot about mystical beasts and the such. Do you want to be a writer or a mythologist when you grow up?"

"Well, truthfully my life's ambition is to be a veterinarian, I've always loved animals. I simply study many other different subjects because you never truly know what might happen in life, so I just want to be prepared in case I have to take a different career path." Garcia nodded, even though she really had no idea what she meant.

"I see, so, what about Mordred, what kind of dog is he? He sure is big, I don't really know how you can control him if he sees a cat or something."

"Well, he's a mix between four dogs, four very large dogs. His mother was half Kuvasz and half Caucasian Mountain Dog, while his father was half Tibetan Mastiff and half Saint Bernard. Mordred is very well trained, he's actually very friendly towards cats and the like, so it's really no problem, he actually listens to commands in Mandarin. Cousin Spencer should be coming with Medusa soon. Just so you should know, Medusa is rather large, she's a mixed breed too. She's a mix of Serval, Savannah, and Siberian Cats, she's very independent, but obedient too." Before she could continue even further, she noticed Mordred sit up and look down the street. Cat looked too and, halfway down the street, Garcia saw Reid pulling what looked like a big cat-carrier on wheels.

"Hey Reid, how's it going?" Garcia asked as she stood up.

"Garcia, hey. What are you doing here?" Reid closed the distance between them and placed the handle of the carrier down. Garcia looked inside, and saw what looked like a leopard cub. From the size, Garcia guessed that what was in the carrier was Medusa.

"Well, I was walking home from the bakery with my bread, which I still haven't eaten, when I saw little Cat here walking not-so-little Mordred up the street. She told me she was waiting for you, so I sat here and waited with her." When Garcia stood up, she noticed Mordred perk his ears and pace between Garcia and his mistress.

"Well, thanks for keeping her company Garcia. She would have been alright with Mordred there around, but I still feel a bit safer knowing that you were there for her." Garcia just smiled and patted said young lady on the head.

"Come on now Reid, who in the world could possibly resist a cute little face like that? Well, see you tomorrow." Reid nodded and grabbed the handle of the carrier and took the hand of his younger cousin before setting off. Garcia looked back at them and smiled as she thought, _With how they act, it's surprising that they're not father and daughter._


	6. I don't like you

Cattail sat in the spinning chair as her eyes voraciously devoured the words in large, hard-covered book in her lap. She noticed her cousin reaching for a file near her, and she passed it to him to save him the trouble. The occasional person who passed either nodded or said a quick hello, to which both Reids either nodded back or otherwise quietly acknowledged the gesture. Morgan was the exception, he had come down earlier to deliver some filed he needed Spencer to look over. He had rubbed Cat's head before he left, leaving her short, wavy hair in a rather messy state. A while after this, Cat placed a bookmark in her book and closed it before placing it neatly on the desk.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Spencer nodded without turning around and Cat left. He had just finished looking it over when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"What's up Spence?" He nearly hit the desk with the arm of his chair as he swiveled around. He found himself looking up at the same woman who he had spent much of his time thinking about. The one whom he had taken to a ball game and had broken his heart some time later. Yes, he was looking up into the face of J.J. He nervously drummed his fingers on the arms of his chair as he searched for the right words to say.

"Um, J.J., hey. How is everything?"

"Oh you know, same old, same old. How have you been?"

"Fine, just fine." He felt the color alternately draining and rising in his face in rapid succession. "So, why weren't you in the office yesterday?"

"Oh, I had a dentist appointment. So, what went on while I was-"

"Um, I'm back." J.J.'s expression quickly changed from friendly to shocked when she caught sight of Cat. She looked at Cat, then at Spencer, then back to Cat again. The look on her face was as plain to read as a first-grader's reading book.

"Uh, wow Spence, I never knew that you were the type to, uh, well... You know..." She gestured at Cat who stared at her intently, almost as if she was studying the blonde woman. Spencer understood what J.J. was thinking, and Cat said it all for him.

"Listen, I understand what you might think, but you're wrong. Spencer is not my father, he's my cousin. I can completely understand how one might make that mistake, especially considering how much we look alike, but I assure you, he is no more my father than a venus fly trap eats its own kind." J.J. stared at Cat for a while as if she was trying to figure out what to make of her. Then Cat stretched out her hand and said, "My name is Cattail Reid by the way, but you can just call me Cat." J.J. hesitated for a moment before reaching out a hand and lightly shaking Cat's small hand.

"Nice to meet you Cat. My name is Jennifer Jareau, but you can just call me J.J." Cat nodded and smiled slightly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Jareau."

"Please, just call me J.J." Cat nodded and perched back in her chair with her book. Suddenly, Spencer remembered something he had to drop off on the floor below them. J.J. volunteered to keep an eye on Cat while he was gone. When he was gone, they shared a few seconds of awkward silence. "So, that looks like an interesting book, what's it about?"

"It's a book of creatures of myth and legend. Harpies, sirens, banshees, dragons, all of those kinds of things." Cat seemed to be acting rather coolly towards J.J., her eyes felt like they were boring holes into her.

"Well, that's very interesting. I've always loved myths and stuff like that. They've always fascinated me." The feel of Cat's intense eyes made her talking slow down until she stopped talking completely.

"Miss Jareau, allow me to set one thing straight between us before we can get to know each other any further. The fact of the matter is, I don't like you." J.J. was taken aback by this and didn't know how to respond. Luckily for her, Spencer came back at that moment. He thanked her for keeping an eye on Cat while he was gone. "Oh, it was alright cousin Spencer, we had a **very** nice conversation, didn't we J.J.?" Spencer's back was turned to his cousin, so he didn't notice the intense look she was giving J.J.

"Yes, we talked about the weather and her book and all that." They bade farewell to each other and J.J. headed back to her office. Before she went, however, she took a quick look back at them. Spencer's eyes were back on his work, but Cat was still staring at her as she left. A flash of something, was that anger, flashed through her eyes, but disappeared as quickly as it appeared. J.J. shook her head and kept walking.


End file.
